Hon Judith Collins
Minister for ACC

9 August 2014 Media Statement
Labour’s ACC policy treats employers asbottomless money box

The Labour Party’s promises today of changes to the ACC scheme are unfair and put the whole scheme at risk says ACC Minister Judith Collins.

“Labour’s uncosted ACC policy is an indication of a move back to their old ways of treating levy payers as a moneybox,” says Ms Collins.

“They are proposing changes that stretch the boundaries of the scheme and will result in substantial increases in costs, which in the end will be borne by levy payers.

“Labour talks about its great track record with ACC but their history of managing the scheme speaks for itself.

“Under Labour the scheme was operated in an uncontrolled and unsustainable manner, so much so that in 2008 people were calling for ACC to be privatised.

“This Government has turned around ACC’s financial performance while also renewing its focus on service provision, rehabilitation and long-term injury prevention.

“ACC’s budget for injury prevention has doubled to $40million for the current year so Labour Party promises on in this respect are hollow,” says Ms Collins.

Ms Collins says that the Labour party announcement also shows a limited grasp on how the scheme currently operates in respect of occupational disease.

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